Leda
by CreepGirl
Summary: "A girl charged at me with a spork once because a rumor was going around that I slept with her boyfriend... I made up that rumor." Meet Leda, the girl who dies and revives, but in another world. How did she get there? Where is there? And how can she get back to her teammates? Leda can manipulate air and Korra needs to learn air bending, maybe they can strike a deal...
1. Chapter 1

HI! Welcome!

 **Just a little background before you begin read. I'll be quick**!

 **FOR READERS WHO CAME FROM MY STORY, AS I WAKE:**

Surprise! Welcome to my newest story, Leda. Shocking title name, I know. If you haven't already noticed, this story is a bit different as it is not set in the Naruto world, it is rather set in the Legend of Korra world. (I had to be different. You know me. I'm sorry.) You never seen Legend of Korra? No worries. This story will be written so that people who never seen the show will understand it. And as always...

 **FOR NEW READERS:**

Oh, you're new? Cool! This is a side-story from my story, As I Wake. As I Wake is set in the Naruto world where my main character LEDA is originally from. There are Naruto characters mentioned in this story, but **_only_** in this chapter. There will be nothing else Naruto related with this story, only Legend of Korra. However, if you enjoy this chapter and wish to learn more about the main character, Leda, and her background, I would recommend reading As I Wake. I wrote As I Wake so that even people who never seen Naruto would understand and enjoy the story. It's a good read, I promise! BUT YOU CAN READ JUST THIS STORY AND NOT BE CONFUSED. Whichever you choose I wish you a...

 **Happy reading!**

 **Warning:** For those who don't know Leda... let's just say she's not the type of girl you want to take home to your parents. *language*

* * *

 **Chapter one: Welp... I'm dead**

"Hero."

That's what I was going to say, if I wasn't dead, floating in an abyss of nothingness.

Never thought I would be saying that anything time soon. _Oh, who am I kidding?_ Saying I got on people's bad side was putting it nicely. A girl charged at me with a spork once because a rumor was going around that I slept with her boyfriend.

I made up that rumor.

I know, I know. Bad Leda, but what can I say? I was bored and she was an easy target.

Between people sending me death threats as Valentine's cards and having a shitting family life, I was bound to get killed at some point. Whether it was by the hands of another or from the carton and half of cigarettes I smoked each day. You could say I had a death wish.

I always thought I would go out with a _shebang_ and the village would have a yearly festival celebrating my death. There would be cotton candy to rot the kid's teeth out of their skulls, depressed jokers who rather choke than have another child kick them in the shins, a torching ceremony of a giant wooden statue of me— the full nine yards. And I would get to haunt each and every motherfucker.

 _Ah, the life that would be… or afterlife to be accurate._

But I never thought I would go out like this. To jump in the line of fire. An exchange of my life, for hers. My teammate.

Thinking of her lifted the black haze that engulfed me. It brought on this vision of her on the forest floor. A bird's eye view of the forest dubbed the Forest of Death. My team and I were taking our test to become higher ranked ninjas.

There she was, caressing my lifeless body. I didn't know if this was real, whether my soul was now watching over her, but I wanted to believe it.

She rocked my body back and forth, like a mother who lost her child. Our other teammate, Mae, and two friends stood around her, mournful, but I could only focus on her. The blood, so much blood was spilt between her and me. It looked like a mass murder scene.

Her long, wavy chestnut hair draped over my body, a veil full of sorrow. Her irises were no longer red. I never seen that kind of power from her before, but I knew she wouldn't have kept that from me. I didn't understand what, but something happened to her while we were separated. I wish I could tell her that. She stared at me like I was looking at her with fear, but it wasn't that. I was looking at her with awe.

Her eyes, naturally, were the most unique eyes I have ever seen. A celery green that glowed when the sun just about hides behind the mountainside, ready to begin the day elsewhere. They were now bloodshot. Tears flowed in heavy rivers, able to cure even the most severe drought. Sobs rang threw the air, pulling on my heartstrings.

It killed me to see her like this—well not killed, but you get my point. But, I made my choice, it was either her or me.

"How disappointing," called a voice. My teammates and friends whipped to see who it was. He looked tattered with his sleeves mainly burned off and bandages barely covering his face, but he was still alive. Dosu.

"Only one of you died from that. Oh well, at least it was the Loudmouth."

 _Dosu._ The enemy ninja who killed me. Stabbed me with a freakin' kunai knife. Making me look like a damn shish kabob. A hole in my abdomen the size of a golf ball. The wound wasn't going to win me any beauty pageants. The things I would say to him if I was still alive. That wet blanket of a coward.

"You…" she growled, holding my body closer.

"Get lost!" one of our friends, Sakura, threatened. "You're done here. It's over."

"On the contrary, I'm not done until each and every one of you is dead." Dosu rose his metal instrument up. That junkyard contraption with the ability to manipulate sound waves and cause ear splitting pain and mass destruction. He was the last of the three enemy ninjas left standing, but he was the most diabolical. I immediately worried for them, for her.

Dosu fell into fighting stance while my other too-smart-for-her-own-good teammate, Mae, and two friends, Sakura and Sasuke, followed suit. Tension rung high in the air.

Then, to disrupt the face-off, a painful cry rung the air. A horde of three-eyed, winged monkeys charged to the scene. I knew this forest had some whacked, scientific experiments gone wrong, but I never saw these. These monkeys were enraged and stared at _her_ with vengeance. By her expression of fear and recognition, I knew she must have encountered these monstrosities before. They were begging for a round two.

Dosu waved the pests off. "Get lost, you filthy animals."

The primates were angered by Dosu's belittlement and with a high-pitch holler that rung eerily through the air, charged by the hundreds.

Dosu fought them off as they climbed upon him. He used his metal arm to smash each one who tried to sink their white, sharp teeth into him, but it was futile. There were too many and soon they over ran him. A mountain of animals climbed on Dosu and his shocked face was swallowed by black fur. All that was left visible was his metal arm that reached for safety but that too vanished in the sea of creatures.

Killing their first victim didn't slow them down. They were still out for blood as they charged for the rest of them. My teammate and friends held out their weapons, but they knew better.

"We got to get out of here!" Mae yelled.

They were about to fall to the bottom of the food chain when the monkeys screamed, but this time in pain. Towards the back of the group, monkeys were being thrown into the air by a powerful force. The cause of the ruckus made its way to the front of the line. Monkeys chewed on his arm and he knocked them off. It was our other friend, that knucklehead, Naruto, who was out of commission until now.

"Naruto!" Sakura called with worry.

But he wasn't himself as a red aura engulfed him. His nails were replaced with claws and his blue eyes were replaced with red cat eyes. His incisors were sharpen, canine. There was that look again, her celery green eyes shined with horror and recognition. There was so much she had seen when we were apart.

"Go, I'll hold them off," Naruto called. His voice sounded rough, demonic.

"But…" Sakura began.

"Go! I got it!" Naruto punched the monkey that gnawed his arm and sent it flying. "Is that all you got, you three-eyed freaks!? Come at me!" He let out a battle cry and charged into the mosh pit. The others wasted no time and ran for cover.

Despite the others dashing off, she stayed behind for me. She started to drag my body away from the scene, but she didn't have the strength to take it far. After a few feet, the pool of blood made it impossible for her to get a proper grip as my body kept slipping out of her grasps.

"We got to go!" Mae yelled over the screams and mayhem.

"No!" She screamed with hysteria. "I'm not leaving her!" She continued to pull my body from under my arms, inching ever so slowly.

Mae grabbed her shoulder and ripped her from my body. "If you stay here, you're going to get killed. Then she gave up her life for nothing."

My dead heart was racing. She needed to go. She needed to escape there. I knew first-hand what that forest could do to a person. Even before my death, it contaminated my brain, devoured me, and spat me out.

 _Please, go. Leave me._ I thought, begging.

A sob rang threw the air, despite the loud chaos surrounding her. Even though she finally realized the scenario, she bent down to say her last goodbyes—the final goodbye to my body.

I never seen her this broken. The girl I admired, who always wore an armor shell to protect herself both from the good and bad in the world. The girl who would go out of her way to make someone else happy, even if that sacrificed her own happiness. But, now she looked shattered. The usual ferocity in her eyes was filled with pain.

 _And it was all because of me._

But I couldn't have let her die. I needed to protect her. And I would have done it again in a heartbeat.

She placed a shaky, but tender kiss on my forehead. Well, my body's forehead that I could no longer feel, but I could imagine the velvety of her lips. The way my mother used to kiss me every night before tucking me into bed.

 _I wish I could feel it one last time._

She places something in my body's hand. The blue shined from up here. _That's right, it's the necklace._ The blue crystal necklace I gave her moments before my death. It was from someone I cared about to someone I care about.

Suddenly a beam a light grew beneath me and quickly realized it was coming from my hand. My empty hand felt something in it. A small, but solid object slipped into my fingers.

It was the necklace.

Before I could try to fathom what was going on, I saw her lean into my body's ear to whisper something. I knew I wouldn't be able hear it. I was disconnected from this world, the lines were severed.

But that's when I heard it:

"I will not go gentle."

The sound of her voice, broken, but strong, undefeated took my breath from me. But, what did that mean? My pig-headed, high estrogen mind's first impression was that it was referring to something sexual, but I knew her. That wasn't something she would say. Her, and my other teammate especially, Mae, hated it when I talked sexual or used sexual slang.

 _Then what does she mean?_

The light from the pendent shined brighter, irritating my eyes. I could barely see the view below me. Things started to warp and spin slightly.

She was about to leave when one of those three-eyed mad scientist created monkeys broke off from the group and charged at her.

"Watch out!" Mae called.

The warning jolted her. She was greeted by foam pouring from its mouth. The rabid creature was begging for a bite.

I called for her, but it was too late. The light emitting from the necklace was too strong. Everything melted and blurred together in a marble of bleeding color. What was once surround by black was soon surrounded by white.

 _Wait, no. No, I need to see if she's okay!_

It was happening so fast. There was so much I wanted to say to her. So much I wanted to thank her for.

My pleas were sucked away by the void and the space spun faster until I couldn't keep up and everything became nothing.

* * *

The feeling of mud clogging the inside of my nostrils woke me. My eyes creaked open to see I was no longer hovering in the nothingness, an evil-spirit watching the living below.

I pushed myself up, staring in disbelief at myself like a foreign object, but it was me. It was all of me, in one piece. The hole in my abdomen where that bastard Dosu stabbed me was gone. My ivory skin was untouched; stomach glowing, exposed by my short, black crop top. The rips, burns and tears on my cargo pants were mended as well.

 _I'm alive?_

That's when the pain hit. The pulsing in my brain came in crushing waves. Like it was being sawed in half by a failed Houdini trick.

"Man, this feels worse than the time I got extremely drunk at Drag Bingo Night and got hit with the biggest hangover the next day," I mumbled, rubbing my pained head.

 _What can I say? Those drags could sure make a grandma's game like bingo entertaining._

"But I'm definitely alive…" And the pain proves it. But, how?

Rubbing my head stimulated a realization:

I was in a forest.

My first initial instinct was that I was in the Forest of Death, the place where I was killed. But, something was off. The Forest of Death was dark, dank, the perfect lair for pedophiles and vampires. This forest was lighter, brighter.

The smell was off, too. The Forest of Death had a musky smell. The fresh earth would sting my nostrils, reminding me of my morning walks to school. This forest; however, smelled like ass— ripe ass.

Wherever I was, I crash landed in the middle of the swamps.

"Nonetheless, I was still intact," I told myself, then realized something was missing as I padded myself down.

The necklace.

But there it was, instead of it being in my hand were it magically appeared, it was around my neck. Where it always was. The blue gemstone was intact, not at all showing evidence that I've been to, literally, hell and back.

 _Wish my body could say the same_ , I thought, rubbing my aching neck.

If I wasn't in the Forest of Death, then where was I? And how was I _alive_? My sarcastic, son-of-a-bitch, body was in one piece. I took a deep breath of air, familiarizing myself with how good it felt to breathe without fluid filling into your lungs.

I played with the necklace once more. _Could it be from the necklace? Could it have special powers?_

Normally, I would laugh in the face of anyone who believed in Wiccan or magic or any of that mumble-jumble. But going through what I just went, logic flew out the window.

"Well, standing around here isn't going to solve any questions." My mind was racing towards my teammates, towards _her._ She was attacked by those freaky monkeys, I need to find her and make sure she was alright.

"I need to get back to the others," I declared to absolutely no one and decided to start my search, which was going to the left, apparently.

* * *

I soon found out that this was _definitely_ a swamp. My feet sunk in more mud than a pig's on a hot day. I almost lost a shoe on more than one occasion which I swear the salamanders and toads were laughing at me for. Not to mention my pant legs are officially ruined.

"Fuck this swamp." I groaned, thinking things couldn't get much worse.

The funny thing about life was when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it can and it will. Standing just feet away, was the most bizarre thing I ever saw… and that's saying something. I did go to Drag Bingo Night after all.

A boar stood there, staring innocently. Not an ordinary boar—no. This was some messed up boar, because instead of a pig snout, it had something that resembled a crocodile's jaw. The brown, furry, square jaw jutted a foot in front of the beast's eyes. Two little tusks protruded from its top jaw and curved inwards.

"What are you looking at, ugly?" I snapped. Its beady, yellow eyes were freaking me out.

 _Maybe I was at the Forest of Death. What are the chances of another forest having the same chimeric animals?_

I picked up a stone and chucked it at the beast. It jumped with shock and scurried away crying. "That's what you get!" I yelled back, clearly winning this battle.

A call echoed through the swamps, shaking the grounds below me. The salamanders and toads quickly ran for cover. Emerging from the swamps was a massive boar, serving me some major stink eye. The boar I insulted must have been the baby as it ran behind the mother for cover.

The mother boar snorted at me and kicked the mud beneath its hoofs, ready to charge.

"Oh, shit," I turned to run and the beast cried a battle call, following suit.

Dodging through the vines and swamp was a lot harder than I would expect. My pants and shoes felt like I was dragging cement and the beast was quickly catching up. The crazy bitch mother boar's squeals grew angrier and louder, dying for revenge. No one was messing with her youngling.

"I'm sorry, you psycho Pork chop!"

The beast was so close now, I could see the tusks; much larger and sharper than her offspring's. _This fucker is going to get me killed all over again!_

Just when the mother boar was going to get her wish, a stream of mud wrapped around my ankles and before I could cry out a curse, was lifted violently into the air.

The boar skidded to a halt, glaring up at her bait. I was like a piñata; hanging there ready to get the shit beaten out by Mrs. Piggy. She began to bark… like a dog.

"Who dares disturb my mud bath?" a voice called. Out of the swamps emerged a very old and very cranky woman.

She was short in statue with some green and gold get-up. Her back bent forward, making her even more ancient looking. The hybrid boar and its offspring scampered to the old woman with released anger. She patted the little one's head. Its tongue hung out with glee. Like they were her pets!

"Let me down, you Old Hag!" I demanded, my arms flaying.

"And why would I do that? You are louder than a sloth bear in a pot of honey, creating havoc in my swamp." The mother boar growled to verify.

"Well excuse me if instead of obeying the noise protocol, I was a little busy running for my life!" I exclaimed, flipping her the bird.

"You think because I can't see, I don't know you're flipping me off?" the old woman snorted.

I didn't understand what the crazy old woman was getting at. She kept her hair in a large grey bun; held back by a green hairband. Her face was— shocker—wrinkles. You could harvest that extra lose skin and make other person with it.

The more I examined at her, I realized her seafoam eyes looked down. They never made eye contact with me when she spoke. Her eyes were glazed over. "You're blind…"

"And you're dumber than you look, Redhead," she insulted.

"How did you—" but with the flick of her hand, I went from hanging in mid-air to being dropped, face first, into the mud.

 _Now I know the salamanders and toads are laughing at me._

I wiped the mud away from my eyes and spat before I ingested it and turned into someone as ugly as her.

"Oops," she said, maleficently.

"What, oops? You did that on purpose!" I pointed, the fury and force behind that action caused me to slip in the mud.

She ignored my accusation and turned to walk away. The mother boar snorted with finality and trotted alongside her. The little one was more reluctant but once the mother boar called for him, there was no disobeying her.

I know the rules. Don't steal candy from children, always help elderly cross the street even when they were so old they coughed dusk, yadda yadda, but this bitch isn't an elder. She's the spawn of Satan. It was my duty to teach her old, wrinkly ass a lesson.

With a quick set of hand signs, I concentrated my chakra to my hands to form a spiraling gust of wind and tunneled it to her direction.

"Suck on this, you Blind Bat!" I yelled.

Before the wind could reach her, a boulder deep within the swamp mud rose and block its path, dissipating the wind. Not before leaving a few striations in the granite.

 _How did she predict my attack?!_

I opened my mouth to verbal take her down, but the words escaped my lips as mud once again wrapped around my ankles and I was hanging upside down.

"You know, this is getting real old. Older than you!" I insulted, trying to shake myself free with little feat.

The old woman stared at me with scrutinizing eyes. "You are able to manipulate air. Could this be a trick?"

"Of course I can! Now let me down so I can kick your old ass!"

She murmured to herself. Between her low voice and the sound of blood pulsing in my ears, ready to pour out of my skull, I couldn't comprehend what.

"What are you mumbling about? Who are you!?"

Her eyes flickered with recognition. "How am I? I go by many names. The Blind Bandit, the Runaway, the Wicked Witch of the Swamp. I am the original Beifong."

With all those long nicknames, her name was simple.

"Toph."

* * *

 **Leda gets dumped into this new world and already runs into trouble. Will the old lady, Toph, help her reunite with her lost teammates? Or destroy her?**

 **New or old reader, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Leda is an... expressive character... didn't I warn you? If you would like to read more, favorite and follow for more updates. Comment telling me if you are new to this story or old and from my other story or even your thoughts so far- I would love to hear.**

 **Updates will be irregular for this story for a short while. I work six days a week until November roles by. But there still will be updates!**

 **Until next time!**

 **xo**


	2. Chapter 2

Warning: Foul language and I ain't talking about birds.

Thank you Sebabug and guest for your review from long ago. I hope I can update again soon.

Happy Reading!

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Pig Latin**

"Toph?" I repeated.

"Yes, Taw-ph. What's the matter with your ears?" she complained.

"What's the matter with your attitude?" I snapped.

"Well, if you just opened your ears, I wouldn't have to go repeating myself, you annoying brat."

"And you're a Blind Old Bat. Now, let me down!" I demanded, ready to tear her to pieces for making me hang here by her swamp hands for this long.

The old woman— excuse me— Taw-ph, rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she said and with a wave of her hand, the mud imprisoning my ankle released and I fell, face-first, into the mud.

"Hey, you did that on purpose!" I yelled, whipping the putrid mud from my eyes.

"So what?" Toph shrugged. "Now leave me alone."

"You're the one who attacked me!" I countered.

Toph turned her back and waved me off. "Get lost."

Toph began to walk away, back into the Hell hole she must have crawled out of. Her mutate pigs trotting happily beside her.

I grinded my teeth with frustration. With practically zero options, I knew what I had to do. Even if I didn't like it.

"Wait," I begged. My muddy fist balled against my muddy cargo pants.

"What now?" Toph complained. She didn't even turn around when addressing me.

I took a deep breath, trying to cool my hot-headed temper.

"I somehow washed up in this asshol- your swamp and I need to figure out how to get back. I'm looking for someone."

"Quit bothering me," Toph said. "I told you already to get lost."

I sighed heavily. The urge to fight back was so strong, I had to bite my tongue. I knew that was going to be the answer, but I had to try. That was it. That was my only plan; the only option I had. All that was left for me now was to venture around in hopes I find my way back home, back to her.

In defeat, I turned around. My feet making inappropriate sucking noises as I pulled my legs out of the mud with each step.

"Wait." I heard her call for me. Toph.

"Look I get it, Old Woman. I bombarded your precious swamp. I'll be out of your hair now." I kept moving forward, away from Toph.

"I don't need you creating more chaos in my Swamp," Toph called. "Plus, it's going to rain soon. You need shelter."

 _Rain?_ I looked up at the cloudless, blue sky. Not one damn doom-and-gloom cloud hovered over us.

"What are you talking about? There's not a cloud in the sky," I questioned. Though there wasn't much point. She was blind after all.

Toph was either not listening or she didn't care. "Are you coming or not?" Her voice was all that could be heard in the distance.

 _I don't have much of a choice,_ I thought.

With that I did want any child would do when a white cart pulled up to offer candy, followed.

 **ξ**

Toph must have tits that could predict the weather because, lord behold, by the time we reached her "home" a cave in the base of an endlessly tall rock mountain, it began to pour.

The cave was what I would expect a troll to live in. Cold, damp, and dark. Inside, the floor was dirt. There was a "kitchen" which included a table, a bucket for cleaning, and random, mismatched utensils.

There were large leaves laid on a mound of dirt that I could only imagine was her bed. There was another mound where the mother boar and child huddled up in a protective ball.

I did it, I met my first cavewoman.

"Nice place," I lied.

Toph snorted and fiddled with the fire pit until it lite. The fire flickered timidly, barely brightening the cave.

"Sit wherever and _don't_ touch anything," Toph ordered.

Looking around, I saw a pot on the makeshift table. It was old with burn markers and dents. It was probably older than Toph.

Before I could even poke at one of the many dents, "I said not to touch anything!" Toph snapped. She grabbed the pot and went to fill it up with rain water.

 _I told you not to touch anything,_ I mimicked silently.

She maneuvered around her dungeon with ease.

"How can you walk so easily?" I asked, baffled.

Toph snorted again. Her arm extended outside of the entrance way gathering water. "You are stupider than you sound," she complained, rolling her eyes. "I am one with this world. Each step I take, each sound I hear, each vibration I feel; I can pinpoint exactly where I am and what's in my presence."

"You can do that with only sound and feel?" I asked.

"That's what I just said," Toph finalized. She took the filled pot and hung it over the fire. The water droplets that clung to the outside sizzled. "And I can tell when you're silently mouthing me off."

 _Incredible,_ I thought. I wouldn't be able to walk around this dump blind, let alone in the real world.

"But how did you know I was a red head?" I asked. "Do your feet have the ability to sense hair colors, too?"

Toph didn't find the joke as amusing. "That? Lucky guess."

"Wa-?" I had to admit, I was a bit disappointed.

Toph rummaged through her "kitchen" and found dinner. She stabbed it through a stick and joined it on the fire. The creature looked like a rat, but with antlers.

"What the fuck is that?!" I asked, creeped out. Its eyes were staring at me as its ass was getting roasted.

"Dinner," Toph simply put.

"It's disgusting looking," I pointed out.

"Then don't eat it," Toph said and took her seat in front of the fire. "Now enough talking, I'm tired of hearing your voice."

I joined her on the opposite side. We sat in silence for some time, watching the appalling rat/deer cook to a crisp. It was somehow therapeutic— the sizzling of the fire, not the rat.

I studied Toph. Her old body hunched over the fire, warming her wrinkly hands. Despite the cold rain and the cold cave and her inability to see the gloomy world round her, she looked peaceful. Content with how she got here and the life she was living currently. Like this wasn't her "home" but her _home._

 _What's her story? What paths did she venture down to become a crazy mole lady? Could she see at one point?_

"Quit starting at me," Toph scolded. "It's freaky."

Her squawking severed my concentration. "I thought you wanted quiet," I nagged.

"I also don't want to be looked at like an object," she snapped.

"What's your story? How'd you end up here?"

"I said quiet."

"Mph, whatever."

 **ξ**

Silence was what Toph received while the cave echoed with each boom of the angered sky.

But some time later, Toph had a change of heart.

"Where did you learn air bending?" Toph asked, keeping eye contact with the flames.

"I thought we weren't supposed to be talking?" I justified.

"Just answer the question."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, knowing one couldn't win against a bat. "I use air-based jutsu if that's what you mean."

Toph stood her head with confusion. "There you go again… dating yourself."

"What do you mean I'm dating myself?" I questioned defensively.

"Jutsu, using hand signs, that's the old way of doing it. Before bending was discovered."

I was taken aback. "Are you both blind _and_ senile? How else am I supposed to use my jutsu without hand signs?"

"Hand signs and jutsu haven't been used for hundreds of years," Toph explained. "Our ancestors discovered that by tapping into the spiritual realm, that our chakra are only compatible with one affiliation: Earth, Fire, Water, or Wind. That trying to cross over onto other elements was disrupting the balance of this world and creating a divide. Years of war finally ended with this understanding and the art of bending was born."

My mind couldn't wrap around this. This was worse than the time I had to copy off of Mae or else I was going to flunk. And it was written in another language, literally. I could have easily wrote "Pass the Richard" instead of "Pass the butter" if I wasn't careful.

"So you're telling me, everyone here only "bends" and they can either bend Earth, Water, Fire, or Wind?" I spoke slowly.

"There are branches off the four elements like lava, metal and such. But there's no wind," Toph clarified. "The peace didn't last long between the elements. The Air Nation was whipped over a hundred years ago. There's only one air bending family left," Toph explained.

"But I can use air…" I said.

"I know, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Toph said. "Why do you use hand signs, jutsu _and_ possess the wind element? I would have called you crazy if I didn't witness it firsthand."

"Everyone back at home does what I do," I tried to justify.

"Where's that?"

"Konoha."

" _Konoha_!?" If she was drinking water, she would have choked. "That's fire nation land that got destroyed hundreds of years ago!"

This bitch was crazy. I had to admit, she had me going for a while. Different fighting styles, different lands, different world? She almost made me doubt who I was and every law of physics that complimented my life. It was impossible. It was simply impossible and I was a fool for falling for it.

Toph was probably on Jet, warping and eating her mind. The voices telling her to live in a swamp, to hid from society and fuck with this girl and tell her complete bullshit. How dare she try to mess with me!

"You're insane. You're trying to fuck up my brain. You're probably going to stake me with like rat/deer and eat me too!" I flipped. I completely flipped the fuck out.

"Don't be ridiculous," Toph said, stern, louder than I have ever heard her speak. The chemicals nipped at her.

I couldn't take this anymore. I was wasting time. "I'm out of here."

I quickly rose to walk out of the dungeon. Just as I was about the step foot outside, a lightning bolt struck not too far off. The sound and shock vibrations threw my right on my ass.

"I wouldn't leave if I was you. We are at the peak of the storm," Toph recommended.

"Fucking hell!" I screamed. I couldn't take this anymore. "This is bullshit! Instead of following and listen to your delusional mind, I should be finding a way back! I left her. I left her in the fucking Forest of Death because of the fucking necklace and I don't know what to do. I don't know what the fuck to do or where to go or if she's alright. I would never fucking forgive myself if anything happened to her! Fuck!"

I threw my body to the ground in a temper tantrum. Tears blurred my vision and I physically beat them down. I was a failure; one giant fucking failure that couldn't do anything right. Not for myself, not for her.

I sat in defeat as the storm continued to rage on. It felt like I swallowed some of the storm as it crashed and ripped open my body.

Toph remained in her place, listening to my rage. Of course she would hear, she wasn't deaf. But, I wish she was, so I could suffer in peace.

"A disability," Toph began speaking. I wished she didn't. "That's what my parents called me. A disability. Because I was "visibly impaired" they would say. "Be careful" they would say. "Zero fighting" they would say. They held me captive because they thought I was too fragile for this world. Little did they know, I was born a fighter and a pretty good one if you ask me.

But they never believed in me, so I left… well ran away was more like it. And I met Twinkle Toes and his friends. I didn't know it then, but together we did something incredible."

I couldn't help but listen. Her voice, her tone was happy but sad at the same time. It was reminiscence and the least crazy thing that I have heard her say.

Self-loathing and utter curiosity distracted my deteriorating thoughts. "What did you guys do?"

There it was again. That twinkle in her eye. "We created peace with all the elemental Nations and stopped a hundred-year war."

 _Stopped a war?_ I thought. There was so much I could ask, such as, how a group a friends could create world peace. At home, the nations were alright, for the moment. But, it would only be a matter of time before history will repeat itself and we will be fighting for our lives and the lives of our people all over again.

"Listen," Toph continued. "I get being frustrated and feeling self-pity. And, I don't know where you're from, but it sounds like a spiritual problem and there's only one person who can tap into the spiritual realm like that and help."

"Who?" I asked eagerly.

Again, the smile. "The avatar."

 _The what?_

"And the avatar is… some kind of monk?" I guessed.

Toph made that same choking face as before. "You don't— oh, never mind. The avatar is the master of all four elements. The only one every generation with the job of restoring and maintaining balance in the world."

"But you just said a person can only be affiliated with one element."

"Everyone but the avatar," she corrected.

I folding my arms in distaste. "I never heard of such a ludicrous thing."

"And I never heard such a rude girl." Toph's reminiscent behavior was gone and replaced with her usual crass.

Trying to play her game, "Okay, how to I find this _avatar_ dude?"

Toph smirked. "In Republic City, of course."

I couldn't tell if the loud storm was destroying my hearing. "What's a republic and what's a city?"

Toph groaned. "You are really hopeless, aren't you?"

She rose from her spot and started kicking dirt over the flames. "Alright, time for bed," Toph declared.

"What? Hey, wait a minute! I wasn't done talking!" I jumped up.

"Good night." Toph extinguished the starving flame.

 _Screw you, you old hag._

 **ξ**

After an uncomfortable, pig smelling night. It was morning and I was ready to get the hell out of here.

"Now go due west until you stumble across a massive river and follow it straight into the city," Toph instructed.

I gave an affirmative nod. The morning was bright and sunny as if nothing happened the night before. I was more than ready to get the fuck out of here. Nothing with me except my normal ninja supplies and a sack with cooked rat/deer that I rather _die_ than ingest.

"Thanks. I mean really thanks. I don't know if you're insane and I'm a jackass for falling into your pig shit, or you do know what you are talking about and _I'm_ the one being insane, but… thanks for helping."

Toph snorted. She wanted me out of here as badly as I did.

This was my only choice and I was desperate to try anything, if it lead to a chance of getting back. To my home far, far away. To my teammates. To her.

"In case you wanted to know my name—"

"I don't," Toph snapped.

"It's Leda," I responded regardless, giving my devious grin.

Toph's old wrinkly face twisted with what I assumed was distaste. I got that same stink face from a lot of people. Don't remind me of the time I cut a huge chunk of this chick's pigtail because I "accidently" got gum in it.

"Well see ya," I saluted. "Hopefully never."

I wasn't far out when the call rang.

"Wait," Toph called.

"Hmm?" I looked back.

"You're red hair. It wasn't just a lucky guess," she admitted.

I stared, baffled. " _Can_ you actually see?"

"Don't be stupid," Toph huffed. "You just reminded me of someone I met long ago. Energetic, thick-headed… a wise-ass. She had red hair, too. The color of the setting sun."

A pain struck my chest. There was only one other person I knew who had such obnoxiously red hair. So red we were offered to stand on a buoy to attract arriving ships. But I lost her long ago; left me with an alcoholic father. Gone.

"Well, umm… bye," I mumbled, masking my longing heart and took off before she could say more.

Far from Toph at this point, but still heard it. A whisper in these endless trees.

"Good luck."

 **ξ**

I left grandmother's house, crossed the river, and slaughtered the Big Bad Wolf. Without trouble, I found it—

I soon learned it was hard to miss.

Republic City.

The Old Bat was right, at least with this. Republic City was real and it was nothing I could have never imagined.

Tall buildings that could block out the sun. People swarming around cobblestoned streets. I have never saw so many people in one place since I accidently set a trash can on fire after flicking an unextinguished cig into it.

But that wasn't that the pinnacle. Things I never seen, could never imagine to exist roamed the streets. People looked different, their clothes were different. The things there were selling. An old man was selling some kind of horn that made music.

Crossing the street, a sound blazed in my ear and I instinctively hopped back. Just in time, too, as a strange contraction that roll on four wheels and carry people zoomed by. A person steering a wheel was slamming on it, making the obnoxious noise.

Jumping out of the way caused me to stumble into people, who didn't seem fazed by the monstrous metal contraption rampage the streets.

"Move it," called an unfriendly voice and not-so-discretely shoved me. I tumbled and person stepped over me.

Where was I? What were all these things? How could I have never seen or been to a place like this? And why are the people so fucking rude? To find things that were ruder and more destructive than I was.

Instead of fear and discomfort, a smile grew on my face. My devious grin being my welcoming call.

I chuckled. "This ought to be good."

* * *

 **How do you think Leda will do in a city? She loves destruction.**

 **Until next time!**

 **xo**


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